TEXT: John 18:12-27

SUBJECT: Exposition of John #45: Double Rejection

Let's continue our study of John's Gospel with the prayer that God will open our hearts to it. In this Word is "life eternal" to everyone who "believes". Do you? Will you? "Lord [we] believe; help [our] unbelief".

This passage may well be John's most puzzling. And clever. He has interwoven two narratives. We have our Lord before Annas, vv.12-14 and vv.19-24. Then we have Peter's denial, vv.15-18 and vv.25-27. Why didn't he keep the two separate? They would be easier to read--and a lot easier to preach! But he doesn't. Here's why, it seems to me. John doesn't want us to think too much about Annas; he won't have us concentrate on Peter. By mixing the two stories, he forces us to pay attention to his central figure, our Lord Jesus Christ. That's what we'll do, if God supplies the grace.

Our Lord before Annas.

The other Gospels focus on our Lord's trial. John, however, never mentions it. What we have here is His preliminary hearing. He's brought to it "bound". For years, He had dominated the Rulers in debate. Now, they want Him to know, it's their turn. The Master has been mastered. Or so they think.

He's taken to the home of "Annas" who is not the High Priest. That office belongs to his son-in-law Caiaphas. Where is he? John doesn't tell us, but it's safe to say, he's busy. At what? At rigging the Council, of course! Some of the Elders believe in Christ; others believe in justice and know He's getting a raw deal. Caiaphas must make sure the Court is packed--his way. The Elders who agreed with him were gotten out of bed; the others were allowed to sleep on. The Leaders of Israel are "More subtle than any beast of the field that the LORD God had made".

John reminds of us of who Caiaphas is. He's the High Priest, of course, but he's also the one who said, "It is expedient that one should die for the nation".

Why does he mention this? To remind us that Caiaphas, thought acting wickedly is not beyond the control of heaven. What he "Means for evil, God means for good". The Apostles didn't know it at the time, but later they would:

"Against Your holy servant, Jesus,

Whom You anointed,

Both Herod and Pontius Pilate,

with the Gentiles and the people of Israel,

were gathered together.

To do whatever Your hand and Your purpose

Determined before to be done".

What's the charge? Heresy. Annas wants to know about His "disciples and doctrine". He wants to know what errors He has been teaching and what minds have been poisoned thereby.

You notice, don't you, that our Lord is presumed guilty? But where is the evidence? No witnesses are called. If they had been, they would have exonerated Him. Even His opponents had to admit: "Never has a man spoken as this Man speaks". But Annas was a Judge who never let the facts get in the way of his decisions.

His staff was worthy of their master. When his bailiff didn't like one of the answers, he punched our Lord in the face! This itself was illegal. And proved these "Guardians of the Law" cared for one thing only: Power. If justice got in the way, let justice be hanged! If the Son of God threatens their power,

"Let Him be crucified".

Annas finds our Lord guilty and sends Him off to Caiaphas to be formally condemned. Not tried, but crucified.

Peter's Denial.

In the meantime, the disciples have not forgotten their Lord. Two, at least, have followed Him to the chambers of Annas. John explains how they got in: "That disciple was known to the High Priest...but Peter stood at the door outside. Then the other disciple, who was known to the High Priest, went out and spoke to her who kept the door, and brought Peter in".

This is one of those "useless details" which are so useful. A skeptic reading John's Gospel would scoff: "How did poor, illiterate fishermen get into the Supreme Court of Israel?" In the usual way: Somebody knew somebody!

A maid comes to Peter, wondering if he's not a disciple of Christ. He answers matter-of-factly: "I am not". But she's not so sure. She whispers to the others in the room, and they think she's right. But Peter assures them: "I am not!"

"Be sure your sins will find you out". Remember Malchus? His relative is there. He knows Peter. He's the one who sliced off his ear! He's in a jam now; Peter invokes the Name of God and swears he is not the disciple of Jesus Christ.

"Cock-a-doodle-doo!"

Peter remembers what the Lord had told him hours before: "The rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times". The Word comes to pass. Peter goes out and weeps bitterly.

Significance.

The twin narratives are done. Now, what do they mean? They don't mean: Some judges are unjust--though that's true. Nor do they mean: Friends will betray you--though that's true also. Nor is their lesson the one most often drawn from this passage: Don't be overconfident. Nothing could be truer than that, but it's not John's point.

He penned these narratives so that we would believe "Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God". How do they support that proposition? Two questions:

What happened? Our Lord suffers a double rejection. Both His enemy and His friend rejected Him that night! One out of treachery; the other out of fear. Rejection!

Does that ring a bell? "He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him. He was despised and we did not esteem Him".

That is a quote from the Old Testament Scriptures--Isaiah 53:3 to be exact. Every devout Jew knew the verse and what it means. It means Messiah would not be the world's most popular Man--but quite the opposite: He'd be the Rejected Man! The Despised Man! The Hated Man! The Persecuted Man. The Crucified Man.

What a paradox! "The Man of Sorrows" is "The Lord of Glory". When Annas and Peter denied Him that night, God affirmed Him!

What will you do with Him? Jesus Christ won't be patronized! You can't be neutral about Him. You're for Him or against Him. You crown Him or crucify Him. What will you do with Him? You must act now. No, you are acting now--for good or ill. In faith or unbelief. In submission or rebellion.

I plead with you--don't deny Him. You'll be sorry if you do. Make no mistake about that. Sorrier than I can tell you or you can imagine.

I urge you to publicly join this Rejected Man. And glory in His sorrows for your salvation. God enable you and me too. For Christ's sake. Amen.